ISBN 0-393-31005-1, Softcover, 191 pages, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110, and W.W. Norton & Company, 10 Coptic Street, London WC1A 1P.

Review copy courtesy of Helby Import Company, 1501 South Park Avenue Linden, N.J. 07036, phone 908-474-1000, fax 908-474-2100 and email helbyman@aol.com for wholesale orders from qualified resellers.

The Universal Bead is for everyone! This is a history of the bead, its life and adventures, from prehistoric times to the present, written in easy to understand language and flowing like a very enjoyable novel. Erikson begins in the Preface with information about herself, her own designing with metals and semiprecious stones and then begins a description of the beads she has in front of her, as if you were right there joining in the conversation. It is easy to visualize each piece as she describes them and then leads us into her quest for bead information. She relates her search for information and the many problems encountered. She then takes us on a journey through time, beginning with caravans and mule packs carrying silks, spices, gems, ivory, gold and beads to connecting trade routes of Asia, India and Africa and water ports for shipment. Erikson traces trade routes of ancient civilizations and their use of bead material for social, economic and spiritual enhancement.

We travel through the Amber Trade Routes which includes a map; discussions on ancient trade routes to the Far East; beads and the discovery of the Americas; and North American Indian Trade Beads including wampum. This last section has some interesting insights to the Native American choices of specific beads from Venice as important additions to their ornamentation. Beads and The Early African Slave trade offers information on beads such as the aggri bead, as well as the sad history of human slave trade. There are examples of shipment lists in the 1600s that include beads in bunches, barrels and individual pieces. At the end of this chapter, we come to black and white photos of beaded ornamentation on pages 63 through 70. Each photo fills a page and all facets of each piece is easy to see. There are combinations of bead stringing, wampum and bead and fiber worked together.

The next chapter, The Uses of Beads, takes us through cultures around the world and includes Aztec bells, the Abacus, rosaries, carved figures and beadwork. Illustrations accompany this chapter followed by black and white photos on pages 87 through 94. Materials, Craftsmanship, and Manufacture starts with seeds, berries, stones and shells and then on to beads formed using grass, coral, cloves, jade, amber, pearls, turquoise, ceramics, glass and other materials. There is in-depth information on many of the beads and how they were created and the cultures that made them. Mummy beads, early pressed glass beads and millefiori glass canes are discussed and black and white photos follow on pages 125 through 132.

Beads and Magic ponders the superstitions of our ancestors; their beliefs in medicinal effects of semi precious and other materials when worn, the practice of grinding up and consuming mixtures internally and those used in ceremonies. The bead colors and their meaning are included along with eye beads, leg and hand amulets, Egyptian amulets and the Ying Yang symbol. Page 156 through 163 includes more black and white photo images of beadwork from various cultures including a shrunken head from Ecuador and a boy's initiation mask from Mali, Bambara.

On the Meaning of Beads our continued fascination and obsession with beads and ornamentation are examined. Erikson explains her profound experience when watching a little girl stringing beads, to the psychological make up of our beginning interest in shiny objects as babies, to eye motifs and their symbolic significance. Pages 177 through 184 are color images of necklaces made of gold and pre-Colombian jade, turquoise, Donkey beads, wood, shell disks, amber, carnelian, ancient Peruvian beads, Indonesian silver, wooden prayer beads, blue glass beads and bells from Africa, a camel's nose ring and a mule driver's earring from Tibet. Erikson closes with the idea of how we create images of our world, the stars and the cosmos into small symbolic forms such as beads and wear them, which seems to make the vastness of our universe more understandable and secure.

This is a book you can share with your children and enjoy again and again. It is an ideal gift for friends whether they bead or not and a real good read for yourself. My original copy of this book is falling apart from my continued use and I was very pleased to receive a new copy for review. Joan Mowat Erikson was one of the beaders who helped begin this big bead movement that is gaining momentum daily. Joan Mowat Erikson, 1902-1997, she will be missed but her contributions to the bead world continues. The Universal Bead is definitely part of my Bookshelf collection.